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§645.1 What is the Upward Bound Program?

(a) The Upward Bound Program provides Federal grants to projects designed to generate in program participants the skills and motivation necessary to complete a program of secondary education and to enter and succeed in a program of postsecondary education.

(b) The Upward Bound Program provides Federal grants for the following three types of projects:

§645.3 Who is eligible to participate in an Upward Bound project?

An individual is eligible to participate in a Regular, Veterans, or a Math and Science Upward Bound project if the individual meets all of the following requirements:

(a)(1) Is a citizen or national of the United States.

(2) Is a permanent resident of the United States.

(3) Is in the United States for other than a temporary purpose and provides evidence from the Immigration and Naturalization Service of his or her intent to become a permanent resident.

(4) Is a permanent resident of Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, or the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands.

(5) Is a resident of the Freely Associated States—the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, or the Republic of Palau.

(b) Is—

(1) A potential first-generation college student;

(2) A low-income individual; or

(3) An individual who has a high risk for academic failure.

(c) Has a need for academic support, as determined by the grantee, in order to pursue successfully a program of education beyond high school.

(d) At the time of initial selection, has completed the eighth grade and is at least 13 years old but not older than 19, although the Secretary may waive the age requirement if the applicant demonstrates that the limitation would defeat the purposes of the Upward Bound program. However, a veteran as defined in §645.6, regardless of age, is eligible to participate in an Upward Bound project if he or she satisfies the eligibility requirements in paragraphs (a), (b), and (c) of this section.

§645.4 What are the grantee requirements for documenting the low-income and first-generation status of participants?

(a) For purposes of documenting a participant's low-income status the following applies:

(1) In the case of a student who is not an independent student, an institution shall document that the student is a low-income individual by obtaining and maintaining—

(i) A signed statement from the student's parent or legal guardian regarding family income;

(ii) Verification of family income from another governmental source;

(iii) A signed financial aid application; or

(iv) A signed United States or Puerto Rican income tax return.

(2) In the case of a student who is an independent student, an institution shall document that the student is a low-income individual by obtaining and maintaining—

(i) A signed statement from the student regarding family income;

(ii) Verification of family income from another governmental source;

(iii) A signed financial aid application; or

(iv) A signed United States or Puerto Rican income tax return.

(b) For purposes of documenting potential first generation college student status, documentation consists of a signed statement from a dependent participant's parent, or a signed statement from an independent participant.

(c) A grantee does not have to revalidate a participant's eligibility after the participant's initial selection.

(Approved by the Office of Management and Budget under control number 1840-0550)

(2) Is a veteran of the Armed Forces of the United States (as defined in this section);

(3) Is a married individual; or

(4) Has legal dependents other than a spouse.

Individual who has a high risk for academic failure (regular Upward Bound participant) means an individual who—

(1) Has not achieved at the proficient level on State assessments in reading or language arts;

(2) Has not achieved at the proficient level on State assessments in math;

(3) Has not successfully completed pre-algebra or algebra by the beginning of the tenth grade; or

(4) Has a grade point average of 2.5 or less (on a 4.0 scale) for the most recent school year for which grade point averages are available.

Individual with a disability means a person who has a disability, as that term is defined in section 12102 of the Americans with Disabilities Act (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.).

Institution of higher education means an educational institution as defined in sections 101 and 102 of the HEA.

Limited English proficiency with reference to an individual, means an individual whose native language is other than English and who has sufficient difficulty speaking, reading, writing, or understanding the English language to deny that individual the opportunity to learn successfully in classrooms in which English is the language of instruction.

Low-income individual means an individual whose family taxable income did not exceed 150 percent of the poverty level amount in the calendar year preceding the year in which the individual initially participates in the project. The poverty level amount is determined by using criteria of poverty established by the Bureau of the Census of the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Organization/Agency means an entity that is legally authorized to operate programs such as Upward Bound in the State where it is located.

Participant means an individual who—

(1) Is determined to be eligible to participate in the project under §645.3;

(2) Resides in the target area, or is enrolled in a target school at the time of acceptance into the project; and

(3) Has been determined by the project director to be committed to the project, as evidenced by being allowed to continue in the project for at least—

(i) Ten days in a summer component if the individual first enrolled in an Upward Bound project's summer component; or

(ii) Sixty days if the individual first enrolled in an Upward Bound project's academic year component.

Potential first-generation college student means—

(1) An individual neither of whose natural or adoptive parents received a baccalaureate degree; or

(2) A student who, prior to the age of 18, regularly resided with and received support from only one natural or adoptive parent and whose supporting parent did not receive a baccalaureate degree.

Regular secondary school diploma means a diploma attained by individuals who meet or exceed the coursework and performance standards for high school completion established by the individual's State.

Rigorous secondary school program of study means a program of study that is—

(1) Established by a State educational agency (SEA) or local educational agency (LEA) and recognized as a rigorous secondary school program of study by the Secretary through the process described in 34 CFR 691.16(a) through (c) for the Academic Competitiveness Grant (ACG) Program;

(2) An advanced or honors secondary school program established by States and in existence for the 2004-2005 school year or later school years;

(3) Any secondary school program in which a student successfully completes at a minimum the following courses:

(i) Four years of English.

(ii) Three years of mathematics, including algebra I and a higher-level class such as algebra II, geometry, or data analysis and statistics.

(iii) Three years of science, including one year each of at least two of the following courses: biology, chemistry, and physics.

(iv) Three years of social studies.

(v) One year of a language other than English;

(4) A secondary school program identified by a State-level partnership that is recognized by the State Scholars Initiative of the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE), Boulder, Colorado;

(5) Any secondary school program for a student who completes at least two courses from an International Baccalaureate Diploma Program sponsored by the International Baccalaureate Organization, Geneva, Switzerland, and receives a score of a “4” or higher on the examinations for at least two of those courses; or

(6) Any secondary school program for a student who completes at least two Advanced Placement courses and receives a score of “3” or higher on the College Board's Advanced Placement Program Exams for at least two of those courses.

Secondary school means a school that provides secondary education as determined under State law.

Target area means a discrete local or regional geographical area designated by the applicant as the area to be served by an Upward Bound project.

Target school means a school designated by the applicant as a focus of project services.

Veteran means a person who—

(1) Served on active duty as a member of the Armed Forces of the United States for a period of more than 180 days and was discharged or released under conditions other than dishonorable;

(2) Served on active duty as a member of the Armed Forces of the United States and was discharged or released because of a service connected disability;

(3) Was a member of a reserve component of the Armed Forces of the United States and was called to active duty for a period of more than 30 days; or

(4) Was a member of a reserve component of the Armed Forces of the United States who served on active duty in support of a contingency operation (as that term is defined in section 101(a)(13) of title 10, United States Code) on or after September 11, 2001.

Veteran who has a high risk for academic failure means a veteran who—

(1) Has been out of high school or dropped out of a program of postsecondary education for five or more years;

(2) Has scored on standardized tests below the level that demonstrates a likelihood of success in a program of postsecondary education; or

(3) Meets the definition of an individual with a disability as defined in §645.6(b).